New tires - after a 20 year absence from the sport, Pirelli is back. They are the only tire supplier for the sport. I miss the days of multiple tire companies competing. It added to the excitement, but unfortunately led to situations where one manufacturer couldn't come up with a tire for all tracks, and the Michelin runners dropped out of the USGP. Grip levels are going to be a big question this year.

KERS - Kinetic Energy Recovery System is back. Why? It's supposed to help with overtaking, but it doesn't. Drivers are so good that they use it to defend their position on the track. Usually F1 technology eventually filters down to commercial cars. Will KERS ever show up in production cars? Highly doubtful. The main reason they are bringing it back, is so they can claim F1 is "green". Fuckin' environmentalists.

Movable rear wings - this year, drivers have a control in the cockpit that allows them to raise or lower the flap on the rear wing 2 inches to open or close the aerodynamics of the rear wing, to increase down force, or decrease drag. Drivers are only supposed to be using this technology a certain number of times per lap and at certain spots on the track. It will be tough to officiate - if they even try. This is another move that is intended to increase overtaking. Curious to see how it will work.

107% - during the first phase of qualifying, any driver who fails to set a lap within 107% of the fastest Q1 time will not be allowed to start the race. However, stewards may permit the car to start (exceptional circumstances - e.g., driver setting a suitable time during practice). I think this rule will be scrapped after a few races. The slower teams (Virgin, Hispania, etc.) will likely be excluded from races due to this rule.

No F-ducts - any system, device or procedure which uses driver movement as a means of altering the aerodynamic characteristics of the car is prohibited from 2011. Too many teams required a driver to remove one of his hands from the steering wheel to operate the F-duct, and it was considered a safety hazard.

No double diffusers - they have tightened the regulations on the underside of the cars, which means double diffusers in their original sense are also banned. Will someone come up with a part that finds a loophole? I've read that some teams are working on exhaust systems that will take the place of the double diffuser and help to manage airflow for a more effective aero package.

Gearboxes - as a method for cost saving and environmental initiatives, gearboxes now need to last for five race weekends, instead of the previous four. This will likely cause headaches for many teams at the end of the year. I think going over their allotment will result in a grid penalty. Reliability will be a big issue this year.

Penalties - stewards now have the power to impose a wider range of penalties for driving and other rule violations. These include time penalties, the right to exclude drivers from race results, or suspend them from subsequent events. Hopefully they won't be making stupid decisions as they have in the past (e.g., punishing drivers for racing incidents).

And lastly....

Team orders - they are now officially allowed. Like they were ever truly gone. This is just a PR move, so that when a driver is forced to pull over for his teammate, there won't be tons of people saying "That's breaking the rules!" Stupid.

Much like previous years, I will be cheering for Ferrari. I don't like Alonso, I still believe he knew about the crash instructions while at Renault. Plus he knew about spygate when he was at McLaren. I'll continue to cheer for Massa and Webber.

Should make for an interesting season. I'm most curious about grip levels coupled with the movable wings. I think the two could end up being inversely related. I don't really have a favorite anymore, I like Kubica but....

My understanding of the movable rear wing is that it's not so much two different settings as much as it is a temporary decrease in downforce/drag on straights, and then only if you're relatively close to the car in front of you. Once the driver releases the button, the wing should revert back to the normal configuration. In that sense, it's kind of KERS-esque. I'm somewhat skeptical about how much of a difference this will make though.

Vettel was flying! If nothing else the tire degradation will make for more pit stops/tire changes which should make for some interesting race strategy. On another note, I really like the Lotus Renault livery.

Well, Sauber (Perez & Kobayahsi) have been excluded from the Australian GP results. Turns out a portion of their rear wing was out of specifications by a few millimeters. Sauber claim it didn't help performance, but have accepted the stewards decision because it was a violation of the rules.

I'm still amazed at Perez's drive - completed the race on one two sets of tires, one pit stop, where everyone else was had 3 or 4. Perez finished in 7th and Kobayahsi finished in 8th. Those finishing position are a great sign for Sauber.

On a side note, I'd love it if F1 went back to allowing refueling, limited the amount of fuel a car can carry (to guarantee a certain number of pit stops), and allow teams to not reveal their strategy (I always thought it was more exciting that teams had to try to guess what their competition was doing). Oh well.

On a side note, I'd love it if F1 went back to allowing refueling, limited the amount of fuel a car can carry (to guarantee a certain number of pit stops), and allow teams to not reveal their strategy (I always thought it was more exciting that teams had to try to guess what their competition was doing). Oh well.

So refueling is back? I thought it was out for this season. Certainly nobody adding fuel in Aus.???

No refueling. I was just expressing my opinion that lack of fuel strategy has hurt the racing aspect of the sport.

I think they were having too many problems witht the refueling system. Things like explosions, cars leaving with hoses still attached to them(you can ask massa about that one!!) teams not able to release the hose from the car.

Well, two races in the books, and two wins for Vettel. Much like Australia, the outcome of Malaysia was never in doubt. The Red Bulls are having problems with getting KERS to work, but still they are the fastest in the field. Webber seemed to have some problems (maybe with balance?), but ended up finishing in 4th, which is pretty good considering his start (started 3rd, but dropped down to 10th after an awful start).

With the Chinese GP this Sunday, it doesn't seem likely the cars will have any major changes before the race. I expect Vettel to lead the field again and he won't have KERS working.

Great drive by Nick Heidfeld in the Renault. Petrov was going strong and likely had a top 5 finish until he went wide, hit a bump that launched him into the air and broke his steering column. Considering how competitive the Renaults are so far, I thinik if Kubica hadn't been injured in the rally crash before the season, he'd be scoring podium finishes.

[quote]...including a steep, uphill run into the hairpin Turn 1, which is expected to become the venue’s signature corner.[quote]

An uphill hairpin into Turn 1? That's a recipe for disaster on the opening lap. Too many cars fighting for position into too small of an area will result in a ton of accidents and knock a bunch of cars out of the race. I hope they realize what will happen and change the layout.

EDIT: Also, I am not a big fan of the "natural" stands. Just spend some money to put in grand stands. I don't want to sit down on the fucking ground. This isn't a 3rd world country, build me a fucking seat.